Judgement Prey
A Lucas Davenport & Virgil Flowers thriller
by John Sandford
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Pub Date Nov 01 2023 | Archive Date Oct 12 2023
Simon & Schuster (Australia) | Simon & Schuster UK
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Description
‘One of the finest thriller series in existence. Sandford is superb - in a class of his own’ JOHN CONNOLLY
Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers team up to crack an unsolvable case in this thrilling new novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.
When federal judge Alex Sand and his two young sons are shot in cold blood at their family home, the brutality of the murders leaves their wealthy St. Paul community reeling. There's no shortage of people with a vendetta against the judge, but the collapse of a major charitable donation he had planned complicates things further, leaving the money in limbo and all eyes on his grief-stricken widow.
As public pressure mounts and both the local police force and the FBI hit one dead end after another, it isn't long before Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in. The duo are determined to chase down every angle and every theory until they figure out who killed the Sands. But when they find themselves stonewalled by the most unlikely of forces, they begin to wonder if each misdirection might actually lead them closer to the truth . . .
PRAISE FOR JOHN SANDFORD AND THE PREY SERIES:
‘A series writer who reads like a breath of fresh air’ Daily Mirror
‘John Sandford knows all there is to know about detonating the gut-level shocks of a good thriller’ New York Times Book Review
‘John Sandford has the Midas touch’ Huffington Post
‘Delivers twists to the very last sentence’ Daily Mail
‘Crime writer John Sandford is one of the best around’ Sun
‘An exciting and superbly elegant demonstration of intelligent crime writing’ Guardian
‘Tough, engrossing and engaging, Sandford writes superb thrillers’ Literary Review
‘Few do it better than Sandford’ Daily Telegraph
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781398523890 |
| PRICE | A$34.99 (AUD) |
| PAGES | 400 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Deborah C, Reviewer
I was very excited to see Judgement Prey by John Sandford pop up for review that I let it leap-frog over a heap of other books. And I'm even blessing it with a review on my much-esteemed website (;-)) rather than just on Goodreads even though I only had an electronic copy. Because I freakin' loved this book. I'm almost tempted to give it 4.5 stars except I was a smidge disappointed by the actual 'who' part of the whodunnit. It wasn't left-field but let's just say we weren't given some of the clues we needed earlier and I do prefer an even playing field when it comes to the big reveal / finger-pointing thing.
It's wonderful to see Lucas and Virgil (Davenport and Flowers) pairing up again. I was a bit critical of one of Sandford's novels a few years ago (despite usually enjoying both men's series) but the last couple I've read have been great and this one most certainly is. Lucas and Virgil have come a long way since their creation and I think Sandford's developed a really good balance between their personal lives and their work lives. Their work and their jobs don't exist in a vacuum but neither are their personal lives so messy or consuming that the case gets lost amidst the noise. And I read A LOT of series and am conscious that balance is not always easy to navigate.
Lucas is not yet officially back on duty with the US Marshalls (after being shot) when he's asked to take a look at a case. On that note I have to say it was jarring but probably important that Sandford introduces us very briefly to the judge and his two sons before the opening murders. The utter waste of life really hit home for me.
There's a lot happening but Sandford doesn't overly complicate things so the main plot (and justice for our victims) doesn't get lost.
The judge has obviously made some enemies over his lifetime so there are a few suspects, there's an overenthusiastic charity pressuring Maggie to meet or better the huge financial commitment her husband had made to them, and then there's Maggie's obsessive desire to make the killer pay.
Obviously I'm a fan of both detectives here and have been for some time. I like that they're being written in a way that they recognise each other's strengths but still take the piss out of each other at times. There's no competitiveness and one would certainly let the other know if they overstep or are out of line. There's a reason Lucas and Virgil have been around for 33 and 15 adventures respectively.
